Lily pressed her face to the glass and it was as if the world had stopped turning on its axis.

On the other side of the door, Daniel stepped out of the elevator, laughing. As he took another step into the small lobby, Lily saw that his arm was outstretched around someone’s shoulders, that the shoulders belonged to a young, flame-haired woman wearing a cream silk blouse and scarlet lipstick, that the two of them were laughing, heads bent together, as if sharing the most delicious joke in the world.

Time seemed to slacken as Daniel and the redhead turned toward the door. Lily saw the woman’s eyes widen in surprise, watched her lipsticked mouth form into a perfect shocked circle, caught a glimpse of Daniel’s startled expression.

Lily felt herself back away from the door but then it opened and there he was, standing in front of her. And Daniel’s first words were not It’s great to see you or What a lovely surprise or I’m so pleased you’re here. Lily’s husband stood and stared at her as if he didn’t quite recognize her.

“Lily, what on earth are you doing here?”

Chapter 52

Audrey

Lying on the super-king-sized bed, three goose-down pillows under her head, Audrey understood why the rich always wanted to get richer: once you’d had a taste of this, you’d never want to give it up.

There was a gentle knock at her hotel room door. She moved to lift herself onto her elbows but her limbs felt impossibly heavy. Parts of her body she hadn’t consciously registered before were making themselves known to her, clamoring for attention, trying to prove that each could ache more than the last.

“Mum? Are you in there?” Jess’s voice drifted through the locked door.

“Yes, I’m just coming.” Audrey tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed but they seemed glued to the duvet. She rolled onto her side, felt a sharp skewer of pain dig into her right shoulder, managed to stifle a cry before it escaped her lips.

All she had to do was get off the bed. How hard could it be? She must have done it thousands of times before. And yet now it seemed that her limbs wouldn’t comply with a task she’d spent sixty-two years taking for granted.

“Mum? What are you doing?”

Jess’s voice oozed concern and Audrey knew she needed to nip it in the bud before the trip was declared over before it had barely begun. Sucking air through her lips and clamping her jaw shut, she hoisted herself onto her elbows and forced her legs over the side of the bed. Breathing out slowly, she willed the heaviness to drain from her body.

Why had no one warned her that, at some point during her illness, even the simplest of tasks would denude her of all energy?

Pushing herself to her feet and ignoring the pain griping in her shoulder, Audrey walked toward the door, remembering just in time to pull her face into a smile.